Zohreh Elahian, the chairwoman of the Iranian parliament’s human rights committee, said at the event that despite what was stated in international conventions, including the 1951 Geneva Convention, the MKO terrorist group that has killed many innocent people continues its acts of sabotage against the Iranian nation with the support of Western countries.
“According to international conventions, terrorists must prevent to be the asylum, and granting asylum to MKO is a violation of human rights by the Western countries,” she added.

On June 28, 1981, a powerful bomb exploded at Iran’s Islamic Republican Party (IRP) headquarters, where the party’s leaders held a meeting.
The bombing killed scores of Iranian officials, including Ayatollah Beheshti.
The MKO has admitted to having carried out the attack.

In a meeting with General Taher Haboush (Saddam’s intelligence chief) in 1999, the then-head of MKO Masoud Rajavi said: “As you know, I was in Paris from 1981 to 1986. We were not called terrorists in those years. Although they knew who had blown up the Republican Party in Iran … they knew who and what political process killed the president and prime minister of the regime while we were in contact with both the White House and the Elysee Palace. They knew well, but they did not call us terrorists at all.”

The MKO has made numerous terrorist attacks against Iranian civilians and government officials since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979. Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks over the past four decades, about 12,000 have fallen victim to the terrorist group’s acts of terror.
Washington and the European Union have removed the MKO from their lists of terrorist organizations. The anti-Iran terrorists enjoy the freedom of activity in the US and Europe and even hold meetings with officials from the US and EU.

The post Granting asylum to MEK terrorists is a violation of human rights appeared first on Nejat Society.

A group of representatives of the Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism (ADVT) meet Swiss Ambassador to Iran Giulio Haas (C) in Tehran, on May 8, 2017 (Photo via ADVT)

At a meeting with Swiss Ambassador to Tehran Giulio Haas, who represents the US interests in Tehran, a group of representatives of the Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism (ADVT) presented an account of how their loved ones had been killed in different terror incidents in Iran, particularly the terror operations conducted by the MKO.

“All the families of the victims of terrorism are shocked by how [US] senators and officials are linked with and support the MKO leaders and consider it as a blatant support for terrorism in the international arena,” an ADVT member said at the meeting.

Another activist underlined the important role of international organizations in alleviating the problems of the victims of terror and stressed that the issue should turn into a matter of grave concern for the global community.

The Swiss envoy, for his part, expressed sympathy with the victims of terrorism and noted that he will convey their message to the US officials.

The MKO, the most hated terrorist group among the Iranians, has carried out numerous terrorist attacks against Iranian civilians and government officials over the past three decades.

Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist assaults since the victory of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, about 12,000 have fallen victim to MKO’s acts of terror.

The terrorist group also sided with the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, during Iraq’s eight-year imposed war against Iran in the 1980s. The group also helped Saddam in his brutal crackdown on his opponents.

The post Iranian anti-terror activists slam US support for MKO appeared first on Nejat Society.

The families of the Iranian victims of terrorism have condemned the opening of an office by the terrorist Mujaheeden-e Khalq Organization (MKO) in Washington as a violation of international law.

“The Mujaheeden-e Khalq [Organization] is a terrorist group in the real sense of the word,” the Tehran-based Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism wrote in a letter to US President Barack Obama.

Pointing to the dictatorial nature of the group, the letter said Maryam Rajavi has led the terrorist group for over 18 years, adding that, “The structure of the organization is completely devoid of democratic principles and is run in a completely dictatorial fashion. [Its] members do not have any say in determining policies and approaches.”

“The claims of such a group about human rights and democracy, when it does not respect the most basic needs of its members and does not care for democratic principles in managing its own internal affairs, are not genuine,” the letter further read.

The MKO’s office, located a block from the White House, was officially opened on April 11 only months after the United States formally removed the anti-Iranian group from the US State Department’s list of terrorist organizations.

The MKO was taken off the State Department’s blacklist on September 28, 2012.

This was while the terrorist group has carried out numerous acts of violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.

Out of the 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, some 12,000 of them have fallen victim to acts of terror carried out by the MKO.

The MKO fled to Iraq in 1986, where it received the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up its camp near the Iranian border.

Members of the MKO terrorist group were later transferred from Camp New Iraq, formerly known as Camp Ashraf, which is situated about 120 kilometers (74 miles) west of the border with Iran, to Camp Liberty near Baghdad Airport.

The post MKO office in US, violation of international law appeared first on Nejat Society.

"The MKO cult has a long record in terrorist activities, including the assassination of 12,000 Iranian citizens, seven American citizens, and tens of thousands of Iraqi nationals," the association wrote in a letter to the Canadian government on Saturday.

The letter stressed that the MKO continues to use sabotage and terrorism to achieve its objectives.

Planning attacks on Iranian embassies in 13 European countries in 2003, self-immolation of ten MKO members in protest to the arrest of their cult leader Maryam Rajavi by French police on money laundering charges, and plotting terrorist attacks also in 2003, all attest to the terrorist nature of the MKO, the letter continued.

“This cult, considering its communist and extremist approach, can pose a serious threat to Western citizens, particularly Canadians.”

The Canadian government removed MKO from its official list of terrorist organizations on Thursday. Ottawa’s move to delist the MKO terrorist group followed similar moves by the United States and the European Union.

The MKO fled to Iraq in 1986, where it enjoyed the support of Iraq’s executed dictator Saddam Hussein, and set up its camp near the Iranian border.

The group is known to have cooperated with Saddam in suppressing the 1991 uprisings in southern Iraq and carrying out the massacre of Iraqi Kurds.

The MKO has carried out numerous acts of violence against Iranian civilians and government officials.

The post Victims of terrorism slam Canada for delisting MKO appeared first on Nejat Society.

An Iran-based right group strongly criticized UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his recent appeal to countries for hosting members of the terrorist Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO, also known as the MEK, NCR and PMOI).

In a letter to the UN Chief on Sunday, the Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism (ADVT), a non-governmental, cultural institution whose members are family members and children of the victims of terrorist attacks, voiced their strong protest against Ban Ki-moon’s demand.

"How can the UN members trust the residents of Camp Liberty (where MKO members have been settled transiently), who are members of the terrorist MKO cult, and grant them asylum," the letter asked, reminding that MKO members had passed special military, terrorism and sabotage trainings in their previous shelter in Iraq, Camp Ashraf.

The letter said striking off the MKO from the western states’ terrorist list could never change the nature and status of the MKO as a terrorist group as everybody knows that the sectarian and undemocratic structure of the group is a "serious threat to peace and security".

In September 2012, the last groups of the MKO terrorists left Camp Ashraf, their main training center in Iraq. They have been transferred to Camp Liberty which lies Northeast of the Baghdad International Airport.

Camp Liberty is a transient settlement facility and a last station for the MKO in Iraq.

In a report to the UN Security Council on Thursday, Ban Ki-moon appealed for countries to consider resettling several thousand MKO members living in Iraq who were recently moved to a former US military base in Baghdad from a camp where they lived for decades.

"Without the strong commitment of member states to accept former residents of Camp New Iraq, no sustainable solution can be achieved," Ban said in the report. "I appeal to member states to offer resettlement opportunities to residents with international protection needs as soon as possible."

Ban said 3,112 MKO members have been transferred to Camp Liberty (Hurriya), leaving about 100 still at Camp Ashraf – also know as Camp of New Iraq.

The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).

Many of the MKO members abandoned the terrorist organization while most of those still remaining in the grouplet are said to be willing to quit but are under pressure and torture not to do so.

A May 2005 Human Rights Watch report accused the MKO of running prison camps in Iraq and committing human rights violations.

According to the Human Rights Watch report, the outlawed group puts defectors under torture and jail terms.

The group, founded in the 1960s, blended elements of Islamism and Stalinism and participated in the overthrow of the US-backed Shah of Iran in 1979. Ahead of the revolution, the MKO conducted attacks and assassinations against both Iranian and Western targets.

The group started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran’s new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.

The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.

The terrorist group joined Saddam’s army during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) and helped Saddam and killed thousands of Iranian civilians and soldiers during the US-backed Iraqi imposed war on Iran.

Since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the group, which now adheres to a pro-free-market philosophy, has been strongly backed by neo-conservatives in the United States, who argued for the MKO to be taken off the US terror list.

The US formally removed the MKO from its list of terror organizations in early September, one week after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent the US Congress a classified communication about the move. The decision made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton enabled the group to have its assets under US jurisdiction unfrozen and do business with American entities, the State Department said in a statement at the time.

The post Rights Group Raps UN Chief’s Appeal appeared first on Nejat Society.

The statement, read at the end of a rally staged in front of the Swiss Embassy in Tehran (which hosts the US interests section in Iran) today, described the move "as s blatant violation of human rights and naked support for terrorism".

The statement recalled the terrorist nature of the MKO, and underlined that the West’s support for the terrorist cult "annuls all the claims raised by the western government about war on terrorism".

The also urged that MKO ringleaders must be tried at international tribunals and receive punishment for their savage crimes.

Late in September 2012, the US State Department removed the MKO from its list of foreign terrorist organizations. The decision made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton enabled the group to have its assets under US jurisdiction unfrozen and do business with American entities, the State Department said in a statement at the time.

Iran’s first reaction came on Saturday when the Iranian Foreign Ministry in a statement condemned the US move and said it displayed Washington’s double standard policies.

The statement rapped Washington for applying double standards in dealing with terrorism, reminding that the terrorist MKO is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iranian civilians.

The delisting of MKO was "a violation of America’s legal and international obligations" that could threaten US interests. The decision "will bring US responsibility for past, present and future terrorist operations by this group," the statement said.

Before an overture by the EU, the MKO was on the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations subject to an EU-wide assets freeze. Yet, the MKO puppet leader, Maryam Rajavi, who has residency in France, regularly visited Brussels and despite the ban enjoyed full freedom in Europe.

The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).

Many of the MKO members abandoned the terrorist organization while most of those still remaining in the camp are said to be willing to quit but are under pressure and torture not to do so.

A May 2005 Human Rights Watch report accused the MKO of running prison camps in Iraq and committing human rights violations.

According to the Human Rights Watch report, the outlawed group puts defectors under torture and jail terms.

The group, founded in the 1960s, blended elements of Islamism and Stalinism and participated in the overthrow of the US-backed Shah of Iran in 1979. Ahead of the revolution, the MKO conducted attacks and assassinations against both Iranian and Western targets.

Leaders of the group have been fighting to shed its terrorist tag after a series of bloody anti-Western attacks in the 1970s, and nearly 33 years of violent struggle against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The group started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran’s new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.

The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.

The terrorist group joined Saddam’s army during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) and helped Saddam and killed thousands of Iranian civilians and soldiers during the US-backed Iraqi imposed war on Iran.

Since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, the group, which now adheres to a pro-free-market philosophy, has been strongly backed by neo-conservatives in the United States, who argued for the MKO to be taken off the US terror list.

In recent years, MKO ringleaders have been lobbying governments around the world in the hope of acknowledgement as a legitimate opposition group.

The MKO spent huge sums of money over years lobbying for removal from the US terror list, holding rallies in European capitals and elsewhere that featured luminaries like former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge from the administration of George W. Bush. Former House Speaker and presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was among those recently welcomed by the MKO to Paris.

The UK initiative, however, prompted the European Union to establish relations with the exiled organization now based in Paris. The European Court of First Instance threw its weight behind the MKO in December and annulled its previous decision to freeze its funds.

The senior Ayatollah added that by delisting MKO, they want to convey this message that they have stood up against the Islamic Revolution and the whole world knows today that the US is the command center in the fight against the Islamic Revolution.

The MKO is responsible for carrying out numerous acts of terror and violence against Iranian officials and civilians as well as the people of Iraq.

The US formally removed the MKO from its list of terror organizations last Friday; one week after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent the US Congress a classified communication about the move.

The post Families of Iranian Victims of Terrorism Condemn US Delisting of MKO appeared first on Nejat Society.

In its letter addressed to the US secretary of state, the ADVT, a non-governmental, cultural institution whose members are the families and children of terrorism victims, underlined the necessity for the US to pursue a non-political drive and study its decision more before striking off the MKO from the list of its terrorist groups.

"The US State Department’s approach to the MKO cult which ignores the group’s criminal and terrorist record and its potential threats is surprising," the letter said.

The letter came after three senior Obama administration officials told CNN earlier this week that Clinton is expected to notify Congress on Friday that she plans to take MKO off a State Department terror list.

Notification will be followed by formal removal in coming days from the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations, which includes more than 50 groups like al Qaeda and Hezbollah.

Clinton is under a court order to decide by October 1 whether to remove the grouplet from the terror list.

MKO is considered by many in the administration to be a bizarre cult-like organization, prompting concerns about its behavior. Officials say these concerns factored heavily in the debate.

"While they present themselves as a legitimate democratic group worthy of support, there is universal belief in the administration that they are a cult" one official said. "A de-listing is a sign of support or amnesia on our part as to what they have done and it does not mean we have suddenly changed our mind about their current behavior. We don’t forget who they were and we don’t think they are now who they claim to be, which is alternative to the current regime."

MKO has paid well-known former US politicians and former administration heavyweights to speak out on its behalf, including former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, former US Rep. Patrick Kennedy, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, and former National Security Advisor James Jones.

Earlier this month, the seventh and last group of the MKO terrorists left Camp Ashraf, their main training center in Iraq.

The last group of the evacuees included 88 terrorists. They have been transferred to Camp Liberty which lies Northeast of the Baghdad International Airport.

Camp Liberty is a transient settlement facility and a last station for the MKO in Iraq.

Earlier this year, the Iraqi government set a new deadline for the MKO to evacuate its members from Camp Ashraf by October this year.

The MKO cannot find a shelter outside Iraq as it is blacklisted by much of the international community, including the United States.

The MKO is blacklisted by much of the international community.

Before an overture by the EU, the MKO was on the European Union’s list of terrorist organizations subject to an EU-wide assets freeze. Yet, the MKO puppet leader, Maryam Rajavi, who has residency in France, regularly visited Brussels and despite the ban enjoyed full freedom in Europe.

The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a recent letter in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).

Many of the MKO members abandoned the terrorist organization while most of those still remaining in the camp are said to be willing to quit but are under pressure and torture not to do so.

The group, founded in the 1960s, blended elements of Islamism and Stalinism and participated in the overthrow of the US-backed Shah of Iran in 1979. Ahead of the revolution, the MKO conducted attacks and assassinations against both Iranian and Western targets.

The group started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran’s new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.

The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.

The terrorist group joined Saddam’s army during the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988) and helped Saddam and killed thousands of Iranian civilians and soldiers during the US-backed Iraqi imposed war on Iran.

The post Anti-Terrorism Association Blasts US Support for MKO Terrorists appeared first on Nejat Society.

"We, the Association for Defending the Victims of Terrorism (ADVT) in the Middle-East, believe we are required to draw the attention of the authorities of the international bodies to the catastrophes which take place for women in the MKO cult," the ADVT said in a letter to UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet on Sunday.

The letter further mentioned that women in the MKO stronghold in Iraq are deprived of their most basic rights like marriage, pregnancy and even hairdressing.

It also revealed that the MKO ringleaders even force married women to divorce and force them to have hysterectomy in a bid to avoid pregnancies.

A defected member of the MKO revealed in March that the female members of the group had been living in captivity for more than 25 years and were not even allowed to appear in public places alone.

"It can be firmly said that 95% of the women in Camp Ashraf (the terrorist group’s resort in Iraq) have not even been allowed to step in Iraq’s public and recreational places alone all throughout the last 25 years," the defected member said.

The former member of the MKO also revealed that nearly 70% of the female members of the terrorist group are single and have not been allowed to marry anyone in or outside the group.

And only a total of 10% of the married members have been allowed to have children, he added..

The defected member mentioned that since 1989 the MKO has deprived its male and female members of the right of marriage, meaning that they are not allowed to form a family and the children of those members who had married before 1989 were taken away from their parents and sent to the European countries.

Also in December, Makki Rafi’ee, another defected member of the MKO, had revealed that the ringleaders of the group have ordered their agents to torture dissidents in a bid to dissuade defection.

Rafi’ee disclosed that agents of the MKO resorted to various types of torture and pressure against him during the last 15 years, and that he had been jailed in the notorious Camp Ashraf in Northern Iraq all these years.

"After 15 years of imprisonment in Camp Ashraf and tolerating various tortures by the agents of the grouplet, I managed to escape from the Camp and surrender myself to the Iraqi security forces," he added.

Also, a November 2010 report by the Habilian Association, an Iran-based human rights group, said that under the direct order of MKO’s Ringleader Maryam Rajavi, the ranking members of the terrorist group in the Camp of New Iraq (formerly known as Camp Ashraf) do not allow members to receive medical aid and treatment, healthcare and other services unless they provide the group’s leaders with given levels of cooperation.

Based on the order, the dissident members are deprived of medicine and other medical services or, at least, face much hardship and difficulty in procuring their necessary medicines.

The rights group added that the new measure came after protests remarkably increased inside the group, specially in the camp. Right groups are gravely concerned that a large number of MKO members may lose their lives soon if UN, human rights and Iraqi officials do not force the group leaders to end their tortures and pressures against the dissident members.

In relevant development, a report revealed in November that Ahmad Razzani, a veteran member of the MKO, had been killed inside the Camp.

According to an August 2010 report by the Habilian Association, the MKO leaders have increased their pressures and control over the members of the terrorist group to prevent possible defection and escape by unsatisfied members.

Reports also said that all exit and entry doors have been locked and none of the members, even those suffering from acute diseases and illnesses, are allowed to leave the camp.

MKO ringleaders have ordered the camp guards to stage snap inspections of the group’s members and their personal belongings under the pretext of finding the lost weapons.

Such behaviors have sparked discontent among a number of MKO members and made them escape the camp and return to their anguished families.

The MKO is behind a slew of assassinations and bombings inside Iran, a number of EU parliamentarians said in a letter last year in which they slammed a British court decision to remove the MKO from the British terror list. The EU officials also added that the group has no public support within Iran because of their role in helping Saddam Hussein in the Iraqi imposed war on Iran (1980-1988).

The group, founded in the 1960s, blended elements of Islamism and Stalinism and participated in the overthrow of the US-backed Shah of Iran in 1979. Ahead of the revolution, the MKO conducted attacks and assassinations against both Iranian and Western targets.

The group started assassination of the citizens and officials after the revolution in a bid to take control of the newly established Islamic Republic. It killed several of Iran’s new leaders in the early years after the revolution, including the then President, Mohammad Ali Rajayee, Prime Minister, Mohammad Javad Bahonar and the Judiciary Chief, Mohammad Hossein Beheshti who were killed in bomb attacks by MKO members in 1981.

The group fled to Iraq in 1986, where it was protected by Saddam Hussein and where it helped the Iraqi dictator suppress Shiite and Kurd uprisings in the country.

FNA – 2011-12-04

The post Rights Group Calls on UN to Rescue Women from MKO Captivity appeared first on Nejat Society.

In a letter to Ms. Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women, Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism depicted the deplorable condition of women in Mojahedin-e Khalq cult.

Dear Ms. Michelle Bachelet:

Executive Director of UN Women

There is a global consensus on the necessity of implementation of the rights of women and the establishment of justice, equity, freedom and dignity for them. However, despite all the efforts made for this purpose, there are still many women who undergo violence and discrimination just for being female. In this regard, the approaches adopted by some cults towards women are the source of the worst types of oppression against them. Based on international reports and documents (including German Federal Office 2003, FBI 2004, Human Rights Watch 2005, RAND 2009, US Department of State 2009, 2010 annual report of the Human Rights Office of UN Assistance Mission in Iraq,…) and the confessions of Mojahedin-e Khalq’s (MKO/MEK/PMOI) defected members, this terrorist cult is one of the worst violator of women’s rights. We, the members of the Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism of Middle East consider it necessary to draw the attention of the officials of international institutions to the crimes being committed against women in Mojahedin-e Khalq cult. May the preparations for the release of the members of this group be made and all of them specially women can return to their families.

Deplorable conditions of women in this cult: The issue which has raised many concerns is the way of treating women in this cult. Leaders of this terrorist cell have deprived their female members from the rights of marriage, having child, loving their family members, using cosmetics or choosing their own way of life. The surprising point is that women even do not have the right to think about the opposite gender and the violators of this law would deserve prison and punishment. This is while Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserts “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.

Involuntary divorce: a report issued by American National Defense Institute (RAND) reads:” As a part of the “ideological revolution,” the Rajavis mandated divorce and celibacy. Compulsory divorce required couples to place their wedding rings in a bowl and renounce their affections for one another.” However, the rules do not apply to the leaders. This is while section 1 of the Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of human Rights says “Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family.” Since 1985 no one has got married in this cult and this right just applies for the leader. However based on Massoud Rajavi’s decree, all females belong to him and they should not think about any other men.

Separating children from their parents: Most of the female members of the MKO, who had a child before entering into the group, handed over their children to the organization and promised to never think about them. After separating children from their parents, the organization transfers children to other countries and relocates them in charity institutes and through introducing them as orphans raises fund.

Gender separation: Despite MeK’s claim of supporting gender equality and giving leadership roles to women, men and women are kept strictly apart in MeK camps. Housing is segregated by gender, and in other buildings, lines are painted down the middle of hallways, separating them into men’s and women’s sides. The MeK holds daily, weekly, and monthly “sessions” that involve forced public confessions aimed at expelling deviant thoughts and behaviors that are believed to undermine group coherence.

Denying the Right to Motherhood: Referring to the prohibition against giving birth since 1985, defected members of the organization disclosed that most of the female members involuntarily gone under hysterectomy surgery.

Self-immolation: applying brainwashing and mind-manipulation techniques, MKO leads members to death. One of the evidences is the self- immolations of 2003 in which three female members of the MKO (Marzieh Babakhani, Seddigheh Mojaveri and Neda Hassani) set themselves on fire. One of them was 25 years old.

Revealing the sufferings of the families of terrorism victims, Association for Defending Victims of terrorism intends to prevent the innocent men and women from being deceptively recruited by terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and Mojahedin-e Khalq. The deplorable situation of 1000 female residents of Ashraf Camp hurts the hearts of all liberals and women’ rights supporters. Therefore, we would like to ask your Excellency to immediately take the necessary steps for returning the imprisoned women of MKO to the bosom of their society and family and avoid their further brain washing by the cruel leaders of Mojahedin-e Khalq cult.

The post Open letter to Michelle Bachelet on Women in MKO appeared first on Nejat Society.

Sending a letter to Martin Kobler, UN Special Representative for Iraq, Association for Defending Victims of Terrorism explained some issues regarding with the situation of Ashraf Camp. In this letter we read:

Approaching the deadline appointed for the closure of Ashraf Camp coincides with the widespread efforts of Mojahedin-e Khalq (MKO) leaders for delaying the longstanding demand of Iraqi people and government. Along with these measures, the cult leaders managed to run a propaganda atmosphere in which they could show themselves as oppressed people and accordingly get the support of some of the officials. For a better understanding of the issue, some points are needed to be mentioned:

The first critical question that comes into our mind is that whether the concerns and apprehensions of MKO leaders are related to keeping the cultic structure of Ashraf Camp or it is about the residents and members of Ashraf? Whether the concerns are the voices of Ashraf residents or they have been made by leaders of this organization? Can we regard the commanders of Ashraf as the truthful relaters of the demands of Ashraf inhabitants? And the last question is that what is the main objective of the cult leaders for protecting and keeping Ashraf base? Responding these questions would lead us to make a correct decision about Ashraf Camp and its future.
Analyzing the statements of Mojahedin-e Khalq leaders in various meetings and under different topics, makes it clear that the concerns of its leaders are only limited to protecting the cultic structure of Ashraf Camp and occasional reference to the members is just for achieving this aim. In fact, In spite of the widespread propaganda of the MKO on freedom, democracy and human rights, the members of Ashraf garrison are deprived from their globally recognized principle rights. This issue is totally confirmed by the reports of independent institutes including Human Rights Watch, RAND and confessions of former MKO members. According to the confessions of Maryam Sanjabi (former member of MKO and NCRI Leadership Council), Barat Keykhaii and Abdollatif Chardori (former MKO members) who have recently managed to defect the cult, members of this organization have been mentally exploited and denied from their primary rights as human beings.

In addition, comparing the demands and statements of organization leaders in international scenes and their propaganda activities, with the remarks of defected members, we can find very significant contradictions between the demands of Ashraf residents and leaders’ claims. The interviews made with some members of MKO who have managed to flee from the Camp, can be regarded as the evidences of this claim. [1]

Responding the question about the real purpose of MKO leaders in saving the Ashraf garrison, we have to refer to the cultic structure of this group. Gender separation, obligatory divorce as well as keeping the MKO members within mental and social limitations, brainwashing them, imposing celibacy, even cutting off their relations with family and friends, dividing them from society, and finally imposing their own wills on the members, are among the cases that occur frequently in Ashraf base. [2] In fact, the commanders of MKO are completely aware that only through keeping the members within the fences of Ashraf; they can prevent the dissolution of their group. For this reason, they have conditioned the closure of Ashraf on getting collective political asylum for all members. With this introduction, let’s consider some of the human rights violations in Ashraf camp and reveal the cultic feature governing this organization, through describing the type of relations between members and leaders:

Denying the Right to Life
The right to life is the clearest indisputable right of every human being. Section 1 of Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights asserts that “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life. “This is while the Mojahedin-e Khalq cult has completely ignored this right. This cult has murder 12000 people in Iran; we have to add the murder of thousands of Iraqis and seven American military advisors to this figure. Denying the right to life, which is the gross violation of human rights, implies that this cult does not believe in any other principle rights of human beings including the right to freedom of expression.

But the cases of human rights violation are not just limited to taking the lives of its opponents. The members of this organization, who are imprisoned in the military bases, are also deprived from their principle human rights. Undoubtedly the Universal Declaration of Human Rights along with two other International Covenants of civil and Political Rights and the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are among the most important international instruments in the field of Human Rights. Other conventions including the Convention on the Rights of Child, the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, and various conventions on genocide, torture and imprisonment were all violated by MKO.

Violation of Women’s Rights
Other than the women killed by this terrorist group, the women who have undergone brainwashing in this organization are considered as victims too. According to international reports like Red Cross, Human Rights Watch (May 2005) and RAND report (2009), these women are even deprived from their basic human rights including marriage and having children. Loving anyone other than MKO leaders would deserve punishment as well.

In contrary with Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights, Article 10 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Article 23 of the International Covenant on civil and Political Rights, MKO considers the formation of a family as the biggest threat for the existence of the organization. Therefore, marriage is forbidden for members and getting divorce for married ones is obligatory.

Women are forced to do intolerable tasks and military exercises. They have to refrain from any emotional feelings. Women are not allowed to use cosmetics; faces of the females living in Ashraf lack any sign of femininity and looks like men’s appearance. According to the confessions of the MKO defected members, about 150 women’s wombs are being removed involuntarily by surgical operation.

These conditions have led to the escape of some MKO female members. In the case of being unable to flee from the organization, some have even committed suicide. Now the question is that why the international organizations have kept silence and do not act for releasing the women imprisoned by MKO.

Hostage taking, violent behavior and torture
More than half of the all civilian-members of the organization are living in the MKO camp by force. This is clearly mentioned in the reports published by US Department of Defense (RAND, 2009) and Human Rights watch (May, 2005). Studying these impartially compiled reports can demonstrate an obvious picture of the anti-human behavior of the MKO cult.

Another case of gross violation of human rights by Mojahedin-e Khalq includes compelling members to commit self-immolation (as the one occurred in June 2003 in European cities). In fact, MKO leadership considers the lives of the members as the property of the organization; accordingly members are needed to sacrifice their lives for the organization. Torturing and imprisoning the members who intend to leave the cult are other cases of breaching the human rights.

Denying Children’s Rights
The Children victims of the Mojahedin-e Khalq are divided into two groups: one group includes the children who have been assassinated before the eyes of their parents. In this regard, the Articles 14, 17,23,24,38 and 50 of the Forth Geneva Convention have explicitly emphasized on the observation of the Children’s rights during the war time and peace time. It has also condemned such violations and considered them prosecutable. The second category of children victims is the children whose parents are members of the organization. These children have to be parted from their parents due to cultic principles governing the organization. Articles 9 and 10 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child refer to the separation of children from their parents and prohibit such acts. This is while MKO has prevented the members from having spouse or children. After separating children from their parents, the organization transfers them to other countries and relocates them in charity institutes and raises fund through introducing them as orphans. MKO also uses these children as leverage for forcing their parents to continue cooperation with terrorist activities of the organization.

Having all of the above- mentioned points in mind, we, the families of terrorism victims call on the international community and humanitarian organizations to identify the threats against these individuals and take the required measures for removing the grounds of human rights violations; we wish to see a day in which not any woman be deprived from the right to motherhood, not any child loose the loving bosom of the family and not any human being deny his individual identity for the sake of a cult leader.

Here, we also would like to appreciate Your Excellency’s humane approach in introducing the Ashraf Camp as 3300 individual human rights files and consider it as a positive step for releasing the residents of Ashraf from the cultic framework governing on it. At the end, we hope that your mediatory measures, as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Iraq, in terminating the Human Rights violations in Ashraf Camp, can lead to the release and freedom of all MKO members.

———————————————————-

[1] For this purpose, you can compare the reports and interviews published by Human Rights Watch and RAND (attached to the e-mail) with the claims of cult leaders published in the website of the MKO

[2] These points have been mentioned in the 2010 annual report of the Human Rights Office of UN Assistance Mission in Iraq too:
http://www.uniraq.org/documents/UNAMI_
HR%20Report_English_FINAL_1Aug11.pdf

The post ADVT’s Letter to Martin Kobler, UN Special Representative for Iraq appeared first on Nejat Society.